"The Gilmer Mirror"

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, if you want to talk about staying power, let me tell you about a newspaper that has been keeping Upshur County honest since before most of Texas had a telephone. The Gilmer Mirror.

Oldest continuous business in the county. That's not a boast. That's a fact carved in stone.

Or, well, cast in metal. But you get the idea. It started as a weekly paper called the Upshur County Democrat, born on January the first, 1877.

New Year's Day. Someone wanted to make an entrance. Early owners came and went, each leaving a fingerprint on the masthead.

W. C. Paul was one.

The Reverend S. R. Chadick was another.

Then came J. P. Hart, and Hart had opinions about names.

In 1882 he rechristened the paper the Texas Mirror. And then, in 1895, it settled into the name it carries to this day: the Gilmer Mirror. Now in 1915, a man named George Tucker came into the picture.

Tucker was born in 1861 and died in 1934, and between those two years he packed in a career as a veteran of journalism in New York and other cities before his family took ownership of this paper. That family has held it ever since. Here is the part that makes old-timers lean in a little closer around the fire.

From 1916 to 1944, the Gilmer Mirror ran a daily edition. A daily. In a town this size.

The marker calls it, and I am quoting here, considered a record for a town this size. Think about that. Russell H.

Laschinger has been one of the publishers since 1924. Ray H. Greene is co-owner.

And after occupying various sites over the decades, the firm erected the building standing right here in 1941. So the next time somebody tells you nothing lasts in this part of the world, you point them toward the Gilmer Mirror. Started on New Year's Day, still going, and very much still standing.

What the marker says

Oldest continuous business in this county. Founded as weekly, "Upshur County Democrat," Jan. 1, 1877. Early owners included W. C. Paul, the Rev. S. R. Chadick, and J. P. Hart, who named it "Texas Mirror" in 1882; "Gilmer Mirror," 1895. Owned since 1915 by family of George Tucker (1861-1934), veteran of journalism in New York and other cities. From 1916 to 1944 had a daily edition-- considered a record for a town this size. russell H. Laschinger has been one of the publishers since 1924. Ray H. Greene is co-owner. After occupying various sites, firm erected this building 1941.